Chapter 2 - The Constitution Shay’s Rebellion Why did it occur? What flaws did it point out in the Articles of Confederation? Shay’s Rebellion In the beginning…. • Colonial governments have ‘compacts’ • The Puritans(read: Pilgrims) established a theocracy Around the beginning, but a little afterwards. .. • Other colonies (MD, NY, NJ, PA, DE, NC, SC, GA) came from royal grants…. • Why is this important? • They were established as proprietary colonies. .. Huh? What’s a proprietary colony? • And why is this important? But we don’t have a parliamentary system…. State legislatures borrowed: • the idea of bicameralism • Some procedures of how a bill becomes a law The American Revolution • 2nd Continental Congress began to meet in 1775…. • Goal?

This preview
has intentionally blurred sections.
Sign up to view the full version.

American Revolution • The pamphlet ‘Common Sense’, by Thomas Paine helped get support in the colonies to separate • 1776 - separation was considered inevitable and by July, the Declaration of Independence was written Key things in the Declaration • Influenced by John Locke’s The Second Treatise on Government • The idea of a social contract • ideas colonists were “created equal, had certain natural rights, and government got its powers from the governed” Articles of Confederation This was the first constitutional framework… What is a Confederation? Articles of Confederation What was good about the Articles? • There is a central government • Center Govt. could make war or peace • First organized agreement between the states ‘league of friendship’ What was wrong with the Articles? • Problems • power, taxes, commerce, chief executive, money • Couldn’t force states to ‘play nice’ with each other (commercial warfare) Important points about the Articles

• Were the states independent countries who loosely joined together or were they an interconnected country? Why is this a big deal? • Power of National Government • Shay’s Rebellion Constitutional Convention • Shay’s Rebellion (Sept 1786) is a catalyst for the Constitutional Convention ( May 1787) • 74 delegates invited only 55 arrived and only about 40 really took part in the Convention Constitutional Convention Constitutional Convention • Proceedings were kept secret…

This preview
has intentionally blurred sections.
Sign up to view the full version.